TRENTON — Although the weather was inclement on Saturday, the Trenton Fairgrounds were still crowded with people for the 42nd annual Trenton Volunteer Fire Department auction.

Thousands of people dealt with light rain to place bids on about 1,800 items throughout the day, with the proceeds going to the fire department.

Charles Jones, who has coordinated every auction, said the event has grown immensely since the first one.

“The first year we did this, we had about 300 people show up and about 100 items for auction,” Jones said. “Last year, we had more than 6,500 come, and we predicted about 4,500 this year due to the weather.”

Jones said there were other items for sale.

“We had a bake sale, over 5,000 items in the flea market for sale and plates of barbecue pork and chicken,” Jones said.

Trenton VFD firefighter Nick Norris said the squad made preparations for the amount of food needed at the event.

“We cooked 38 pigs and 900 chickens,” Norris said.

Beth Chadwick said she had been coming to the auctions for years, but this year was her first as a vendor. Chadwick is the owner of B.J. Designs in Comfort.

“This is a great place to see a lot of people you’ll only catch once a year,” Chadwick said. “I enjoy coming out to see the crowd and people watch.”

We have 25 firemen on the roster, but we also had about 200 volunteers,” Mills said. “Some came from the Pollocksville Fire Department, some from Cove City and others who aren’t firemen. The surrounding communities have been very helpful.

Donna Paschal said she had been volunteering to serve barbecue plates for years at the auctions, enjoying the camaraderie with other volunteers.

“When we volunteer one year, we understand we’ll be back,” Paschal said. “It’s great to help out the community, especially at an event which is the biggest happening in Trenton. We also have good fellowship here. You only see some of these people once a year, so we take the time to catch up.

“This day always brings fun and friends, as well as the best barbecue chicken by far.”

There were three auction stations at the fairgrounds, with crowds gathered around placing bids. Phillip Banks, the designated auctioneer, said each member was experienced and certified.

“We only use licensed auctioneers and do everything by law,” Banks said. “We made sure they’re all qualified, and several fellows have been doing this for years. We also rotated new guys and gave some of our younger auctioneers a chance.”

Scott Johnson, who resides in New Bern, said the auction was good because of how it could assist patrons.

Page 2 of 2 - “People can come out here and get what they need,” Johnson said. “It isn’t hard to find much here.”

Tyler Cierski, who is from Prince Georges County, Md., said he came out to the auction to visit his girlfriend and was impressed by the setup.

“This is my first time being at an event like this,” Cierski said. “There is really a variety of people at the auction and things being sold. I’ve never been to a place where you could get a toy airplane and a tractor at the same time, so this is pretty neat.”

Beulaville resident Anita Davis said she had been going to the auction for years, and enjoyed the food served.

“I came out for the barbecue,” she said.

Jones hopes to see a bigger turnout for next year.

“Hopefully the weather will be better, and more people will come out,” Jones said.

Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.